Ali Maher meets Egypt FA chief over preparations and coaching staff

Hany Abu Rida and Egypt head coach Ali Maher have held talks about the national team’s preparations for their next two Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches.

The meeting was held by the board of the Egyptian Football Association, led by Abu Rida, with Maher appointed as Egypt’s new manager following the departure of Hossam Hassan.

Maher is due to present the names of his proposed backroom staff to the board on the following day, with the appointments requiring formal approval before the start of the national team’s training camp.

After the meeting, Maher toured the national teams’ centre to assess the facilities available to the squad. His visit included the accommodation hotel, gym and restaurant, as he familiarised himself with the arrangements ahead of the camp.

According to FilGoal.com, Mohamed Abdel-Karim is close to becoming assistant manager, while Mohamed Abdel Wahed is in line for the role of assistant coach. Mostafa Fathi is expected to be appointed goalkeeping coach.

Abdel-Karim has previously worked alongside Maher during several spells over recent years. Their shared experience includes Al Assiouty, now known as Pyramids, as well as Al Masry, Smouha, Future, now Modern Sport, and Ceramica Cleopatra more recently.

FilGoal.com also reports that there is currently no plan to appoint a new director of the Egypt national team, at least for the camp covering the two matches against Malawi.

The Egyptian Football Association formally announced Hassan’s departure from the post before confirming Maher as his replacement. Maher had been head coach of Ceramica Cleopatra.

The decision to make the change had already been reported by FilGoal.com, which said the association had settled on ending Hassan’s tenure and appointing Maher instead.

Egypt will face Malawi on 13 and 17 November in the third and fourth rounds of qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Hassan took charge of Egypt in 2022 and led the Pharaohs to fourth place at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, as well as to the last 16 at the 2026 World Cup.

Egypt are in Group B of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers alongside Angola, South Sudan and Malawi. They currently lead the section with four points, ahead of Angola on goal difference.

Malawi are third with three points, while South Sudan are bottom without a point. Egypt began the campaign with a goalless draw against Angola in Cairo before recording a 5-0 away victory over South Sudan.